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Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Gage Goncalves

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Gage Goncalves from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

Set to turn 23 in just a few days, this recall puts Goncalves in a position to potentially make his NHL debut in the middle of his third full season in Syracuse. Goncalves has been a true developmental success story for a Lightning organization that has seen its crop of impactful forward prospects thin in recent years.

A late second-round pick at the 2020 draft, Goncalves spent the year after he was drafted playing in the WHL. He moved to pro hockey in 2021-22, scoring 17 goals and 32 points for the Crunch in a top-nine role. He moved into the top-six full-time last season and scored 13 goals and 54 points, as well as five points in five postseason games.

So far this season, Goncalves has become the centerpiece offensive player for the Crunch and the team’s first-line center. He’s already up to seven goals and 30 points in 33 games, and he recently was named to his first AHL All-Star game.

At the moment, it’s not immediately clear where Goncalves would slot into the Lightning lineup. The natural center is going to have a tough time displacing one of the team’s entrenched pivots (Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul, and Luke Glendening appear to have their roles locked down) but perhaps he can get his start on the wing in place of a less established winger such as former Crunch teammate Alex Barré-Boulet.

But seeing as forward Tanner Jeannot is out indefinitely due to injury, the Lightning before Goncalves’ recall had just 12 healthy forwards on their active roster. If nothing else, Goncalves’ recall gives the club a spare forward in time for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

Oliver Kylington Loaned To AHL On Conditioning Basis

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01/10/24: The Flames have issued a positive update on Kylington’s progress. He’s “trending towards playing” in the Wranglers’ game tomorrow night against the Ontario Reign. Should he end up playing, it will be Kylington’s first game action since May 2022.

01/04/24: The Calgary Flames have announced that defenseman Oliver Kylington has been sent to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, for the purpose of a conditioning assignment.

Following that announcement, the Flames issued a statement from Kylington which reads as follows:

I feel I’m in a good place with my mental health and ready to take another step forward. Returning to Calgary has been the right decision. I’ve felt tremendous commitment from Flames ownership, management, and my teammates, and I am appreciative of the support and resources made available to me. I also thank my family, friends, and the fans for their encouragement. I’m looking forward to getting on the ice in a team environment and back to my everyday life. I have missed it very much.

Kylington has not played since 2021-22, as he missed all of last season and so far all of 2023-24 for personal reasons. In early December, Flames head coach Ryan Huska gave an update on Kylington’s status, communicating that the Swedish blueliner was still a long way away from returning.

Now, according to today’s announcement, it appears Kylington is now far closer to a return to the NHL than it seemed a little more than a month ago. Kylington’s conditioning stint can last up to six days, or three games, whichever period is longer, although the Flames can request an extension of two games if they decide that would be necessary for Kylington’s fitness to play in the NHL.

Kylington, a pending UFA, has a $2.5MM cap hit that is currently placed on LTIR. The Flames would need to activate him off of that last to get him back onto their roster, though that shouldn’t be a major issue as CapFriendly currently projects them to have more than enough cap space to do so. The team also currently has an open roster spot on its 23-man roster.

As for where Kylington could slot in once he returns to the Flames’ lineup, it’s not immediately clear whether he’d immediately return to playing alongside veteran Chris Tanev. Tanev is currently playing next to Noah Hanifin, so it could be that Kylington takes Jordan Oesterle’s spot alongside MacKenzie Weegar, or Dennis Gilbert’s spot next to Rasmus Andersson.

In any case, this development is an extremely positive one for the Flames. The left side of their defense is notably thinner than their ironclad right side, so adding a player who scored 31 points in 73 games during his last NHL season will certainly help matters there.

New York Rangers Recall Matthew Robertson

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The New York Rangers have recalled defenseman Matthew Robertson from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. This is not the 22-year-old’s first recall of his career, though he has still not yet made his NHL debut for the Rangers.

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks contextualized this move on X, stating that captain Jacob Trouba has missed the team’s last two practices tending to a personal matter. Robertson’s call-up gives the Rangers some additional cover on defense in case Trouba misses tomorrow’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Although Zac Jones, the Rangers’ seventh defenseman is currently the more likely option to step into Trouba’s role if needed on the team’s second pairing, Robertson is more stylistically comparable to Trouba than Jones is.

Jones, 23, is an undersized offensive blueliner who has excelled at the AHL level but struggled to have the same impact in the NHL without premier offensive or power play opportunities. Robertson, on the other hand, is a six-foot-three crease-clearing defenseman who doesn’t bring as much offense to the table, but adds a physical dimension to his game that Jones lacks. In case Trouba misses any time, this recall gives head coach Peter Laviolette the choice of two defensemen in order to fill his captain’s vacated role.

Injury Updates: Skinner, Nečas, Capitals

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Although the Sabres have the longest active playoff drought in the NHL and one that seems likelier and likelier to extend through 2023-24, their lack of team progress has not stopped individual Sabres from taking major steps forward in their career. $9MM AAV forward Jeff Skinner is coming off of a career year in which he scored 82 points, and currently has 33 points in 38 games. He’s among Buffalo’s most reliable offensive generators, which makes it all the more distressing that he’s suffered an upper-body injury, according to The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn.

Fairburn reports that “the Sabres are waiting for the results” of the imaging Skinner underwent this morning in order to determine a timetable for his recovery. Any significant Skinner absence could be a potential killing blow to the Sabres’ long-shot playoff hopes. He’s skated on the team’s first line alongside Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson, and although three-time 20-goal scorer Victor Olofsson would see more regular time in the lineup in Skinner’s absence, the Sabres don’t have any players who appear capable of replicating Skinner’s playmaking abilities.

Other injury notes from across the NHL:

  • Carolina Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff has provided updates from head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who says that forward Martin Nečas’ upper-body injury “isn’t too serious,” though it may keep him out of the lineup tomorrow. Necas last played in Carolina’s December 2nd win against the New York Rangers, before getting injured. After scoring 28 goals and 71 points last season Necas is scoring at a 20-goal, 56-point pace this season.
  • The Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson reports that both Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson were on the ice ahead of team practice this morning. Wilson was wearing a “fishbowl” helmet to protect his broken nose. Both players skated in the team’s most recent game Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings, but there was some fear that neither would be available tomorrow against Seattle due to injury. They’re still not confirmed to be ready to play, but today’s reporting does point in a positive direction in that regard.

Vegas Golden Knights Activate, Reassign Kaedan Korczak

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The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that defenseman Kaedan Korczak has been activated off of injured reserve and subsequently reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

The 22-year-old last played in a December 10th contest against the San Jose Sharks, skating nearly 19 minutes in a 5-4 shootout victory. He suffered a lower-body injury during that game and was placed on injured reserve shortly afterward. Although Korczak has played in 15 NHL games this season compared to just five in the AHL, it’s understandable that the Golden Knights would want to see Korczak build back to full strength after his injury at the AHL level before throwing him back into the NHL lineup.

The six-foot-three right-shot defenseman plays with a lot of physicality, so some time in the AHL is likely required before he’ll feel comfortable re-engaging in that aggressive playstyle against NHL competition. The Golden Knights’ defense has been dealing with quite a few injuries, so it may not take too long before Korczak finds himself back in the NHL, perhaps on the team’s second pairing next to Brayden McNabb.

In the meantime, that spot is occupied by two-time QMJHL defenseman of the year Lukas Cormier, who picked up an assist in his first career NHL game on Saturday.

Florida Panthers Reassign Mackie Samoskevich

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01/10/24: After a five-day stay on the NHL roster, Samoskevich has been reassigned to AHL Charlotte. He didn’t manage to get into any games while on this most recent recall, and instead served as a healthy scratch for the team’s back-to-back victories against the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. He’ll now resume his top-of-the-lineup role with the Checkers.

01/05/24: The Florida Panthers have recalled forward Mackie Samoskevich from their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. According to The Hockey News’ David Dwork, forward Nick Cousins has been placed on injured reserve, clearing the roster spot to be occupied by Samoskevich.

Samoskevich, 21, began the season with the Panthers but was sent down to the AHL after two games. He’s played in a total of three NHL games this season, but his most recent one was in late October. Samoskevich has been strong in what has been his rookie AHL campaign and is now up to nine goals and 22 points in 27 games.

The 21st overall pick at the 2021 draft, Samoskevich is a highly-ranked prospect due to his strong work ethic and impressive offensive skill. He was above point-per-game at Michigan in his final season there and has played his way into the NHL picture in Florida over the last year.

Jonah Gadjovich has drawn into the Panthers’ lineup in Cousins’ absence, but Samoskevich could end up taking that spot moving forward. Samoskevich doesn’t provide the kind of physicality Gadjovich does, but swapping them out would allow Ryan Lomberg to return to the team’s fourth line alongside Will Lockwood and Kevin Stenlund.

That would place Samoskevich in Cousins’ old role next to Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen on the third line, which would give that line a bit more of an offensive spark compared to what Lomberg typically can provide.

Tampa Bay Lightning Make Several Roster Moves

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01/08/24: The Lightning have now reassigned Thompson back to the Crunch. The 21-year-old made his NHL debut in Tampa’s 7-3 loss against the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

Skating as the Lightning’s seventh defenseman, Thompson received 11:39 time-on-ice in which he managed one shot on goal, two hits, and had a 32.59% expected goals share when on the ice according to Natural Stat Trick.

01/05/24: The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that defensemen Emil Martinsen Lilleberg and Jack Thompson have been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, while Sean Day and Declan Carlile have been sent down.

Day and Carlile were recalled yesterday, in the aftermath of Mikhail Sergachev’s placement on long-term injured reserve. As has been a trend for Day, his recall allowed him to serve as a healthy-scratched spare blueliner, but he did not dress for the Lightning’s game. Day has been up and down from the Lightning roster frequently over the last few weeks, and the last game he’s actually played in was on December 20th.

Carlile, 23, actually did get to play and made his NHL debut last night. He skated in almost 11-and-a-half minutes of ice time in yesterday’s game, and while he didn’t end up scoring his first NHL point he did manage two blocked shots, a hit, and a plus-one rating.

Replacing Carlile on the roster (and potentially on Tampa Bay’s third pairing) is 21-year-old Thompson, a right-shot 2020 third-round pick. Thompson is in the midst of his sophomore pro campaign and has had a strong start to the year in Syracuse, scoring 20 points in 31 games. He could make his NHL debut for Tampa tomorrow in Boston.

Although he’s a left-shot blueliner and Carlile’s spot in the lineup was on the right side, there’s a chance that Martinsen Lilleberg makes his NHL debut tomorrow instead of Thompson. The 22-year-old Norwegian defenseman was a 2021 fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes who spent the last two years of his career with IK Oskarshamn in the SHL.

The Lightning signed him this offseason and he’s now playing his first career season in North America. He has 12 points in 31 games alongside 45 penalty minutes for the Crunch.

Seattle Kraken Recall Ryker Evans

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The Seattle Kraken have announced that defenseman Ryker Evans has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Evans, 22, last played for the Kraken on December 27th. He’s spent all of 2024 so far with Coachella Valley, and has done very well there. The Firebirds have collected seven points out of eight available since Evans returned to their lineup, and Evans himself has scored four points in that span of games. That puts him up to 12 points in 22 games at the AHL level, which is not far off from last season’s scoring pace when he put up 44 points in 71 regular-season games.

After a stellar playoff run that saw Evans score 26 points in 26 games en route to a heartbreaking loss in overtime of Game Seven in the Calder Cup final, there was a widespread belief that 2023-24 would be the season Evans broke into the NHL with the Kraken.

The team’s first-ever second-round pick has played in nine NHL games so far this season, averaging 17:58 time-on-ice per game. He’s scored four points in those nine games while also receiving time on the club’s second power play unit.

Evans’ recall gives the Kraken a seventh defenseman on their active roster, and at the moment he figures to be a healthy scratch. With the team beginning a six-game road trip tomorrow, though, he could end up getting into some games seeing as former seventh defenseman Jaycob Megna was recently claimed off of waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Calgary Flames Kevin Rooney Clears Waivers

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1/9: Rooney has cleared waivers and is awaiting assignment.

1/8: The Calgary Flames have placed forward Kevin Rooney on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The move is a precursor to Rooney getting activated off of long-term injured reserve, as should he clear waivers the Flames would be able to activate him and assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.

In addition to this move, Sportsnet 960’s Patt Steinberg reports that forward Jakob Pelletier has been activated off of season-opening injured reserve and been assigned to the Wranglers. Pelletier is recovering from shoulder surgery, and now he can get into some AHL practices as part of that recovery. Long-term, the expectation is likely that Pelletier will return to the NHL level as that is where he scored seven points in 24 games last season.

As for Rooney, the six-foot-two veteran pivot was originally signed by the Flames to a $1.3MM AAV contract in order to serve as their fourth-line center. He’d filled that role admirably for the New York Rangers for the prior two seasons, and was fresh off of a run with the club to the Eastern Conference Final.

Rooney struggled in Calgary, and only played in 17 NHL games last season compared to 51 in the AHL. Now likely to be a Wrangler once again, the Flames will be tagged with $150k against the cap from Rooney’s deal as $1.15MM of the full $1.3MM total is considered “buried” when Rooney is on the AHL roster.

Minnesota Wild Reassign Jake Lucchini

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With the news that forward Marcus Foligno has returned from his injury and is ready to play tonight as the Minnesota Wild host the Dallas Stars, the Wild have decided to send a forward down back to the AHL: Jake Lucchini.

Lucchini was a healthy scratch for the Wild’s most recent game, but now with Foligno returning it appears Nic Petan will take his spot in the team’s press box, pushing Lucchini back to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The 28-year-old veteran of 261 AHL games last played in Iowa on December 20th, before receiving his first NHL game of the year just three days later.

The 28-year-old undrafted veteran broke out as an AHL scorer in 2021-22, potting 20 goals and 51 points for the Belleville Senators. He had an even better campaign in Belleville last year, and then the Wild committed a $300k AHL salary to Lucchini for 2023-24 in order to sign him, and he’s been a top scorer for the AHL Wild so far this year.

With 24 points in 24 games, Lucchini is among the Wild’s top AHL scorers, and with this reassignment, he’ll likely resume his role at or near the top of the team’s forward depth chart. Given the Wild’s tendency for injury this season, their significant lack of cap space, and Lucchini’s league-minimum $775k cap hit, it’s certainly possible we haven’t seen the last of Lucchini in the NHL this season.

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